Navy blue messdress is generally worn as the naval equivalent of white tie or fl tie.

Today there is no ball dress, and the only difference between messdress and mess undress in the Royal Navy is the colour of the waistcoat, which is white for messdress and blue (or replaced with a cummerbund) for mess undress.

Messdress in the Royal Air Force is similar to that in the Royal Navy, except that the jacket and trousers are in mid-blue.

A mess kit is a collection of silverware and cookware used during camping and backpacking, as well as extended military campaigns.

Thus, the flat-oval mess kit is split along the length of the side, creating two halves: the deeper halves forms a deep oval skillet, which has a foldable handle that curves near the end into a latch.

In storage, their dimension were similar to the American mess kit's storage dimension; however, instead of splitting along the length of the side, they were split along the width, around two-thirds of the body, creating a pot with handle and a cup, which was useful for cooking and reheating stews and rice.

Although normally on Federal property, messes must comply with the legal drinking age laws of their province; for example, an 18-year-old soldier may legally consume alcohol in a Quebec mess, but not in one in Ontario, where the legal age is 19.

On a British Army or RAF station, there are usually three messes: the Officers' Mess, for commissioned officers, the Sergeants' Mess, for senior non-commissioned officers (SNCOs) and warrant officers (WOs), and the Junior Ranks' Mess (JRM), for junior ranks.

Mess halls in the USAF, where unmarried junior enlisted residing in the dormitories are expected to eat, are officially referred to as "dining facilities," but are colloquially called "chow halls," although dining facility workers traditionally take offense at the term.

Headdresses are removed upon entering a mess (soldiers without headdress are out of uniform, and soldiers out of uniform cannot salute.) The typical tradition is that anyone wearing a form of headdress inside the mess must buy a round of drinks.

Mess halls in the USAF, where unmarried junior enlisted residing in the dormitories are expected to eat, are officially referred to as "dining facilities," but are colloquially called "chow halls," although dining facility workers tend to take offense at the term.

Messdress in the U.S. Armed Forces is a more recent trend, which started in the early 20th Century.

Both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard utilize the same messuniform, consisting of a fl waist-length "tuxedo" coat with rank rings on the sleeves, and worn with a white bowtie and vest for state occasions, or a fl bowtie and gold cummerbund for semi-formal occasions.

The blue dress "B" uniform (or for officers, the blue-white dress "B" uniform when appropriate for the season) may be prescribed for parades, ceremonies, informal social functions, and as the uniform of the day.

The blue dress sweater may be worn as part of the blue dress "C" uniform at the option of the individual except on those occasions when the wear of the blue coat would be more appropriate.

During the white dressuniform phase-out period, white dress coats and trousers/skirts/slacks of either the polyester/rayon or 100% polyester fabrics are authorized for purchase and wear.

Many an Mess Meeting has been dominated by the MessDress v Black Tie debate, usually won by the old and bold who've no desire to spend a night in extreme discomfort, just so the JNCOs / subalterns have an increased chance of getting laid.

Worst Officer's MessDress award is held jointly by the Army Air Corps and the Intelligence Corps, who both wear a form of wetsuit.

Oddly enough, the one reason that the old and bold do like to wear mess kit is because they can then wear their Medals.

www.arrse.co.uk /wiki/Mess_Dress (201 words)

Mess Dress(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)

I acquired a messdress before I retired and I am trying to find the regulation as to where and what insignia is required.

I've read in the CF Dress Instructions that a member can have his service dress or ceremonial dress made by a civilian tailor (as opposed to the CF supply system) if that tailor is using 'official' CF tailoring patterns.

Mess Kit is a whole different story and there are numerous tailors around the country that have the patterns and various choices or grades of fabric that one may want to choose from.

MessDressuniforms are worn for all functions in the Captain'sMess; simply put, they are the most formal uniform of Starfleet personnel.

Naval flag officer messdressuniforms consist of a white jacket trimmed with the piping of their group, and a white blouse with rank insignia on both sides of the collar and the end of each jacket sleeve.

It is a military formation, as old and as rich in tradition as the quarterdeck or the mounting of the guard, and as essential to a close-knit, smooth-performing unit as are drills, inspections and military ceremonies.

It cannot be too strongly emphasized that mess night is not a party in any sense; it is very similar to honors, for its purpose is to solemnly pay tribute to all of those intangibles for and by which the military unit stands.

A "Dining-In" or "Mess Night" is a military formation, as old and as rich in tradition as the quarterdeck or the mounting of the guard, and as essential to a close-knit, smooth performing unit as are drills, inspections and military ceremonies.

Mind you, I am not particularly fond of "cocktail dresses" at the best of time and was quite disappointed that the Mess function would be dinner suit and cocktail dress and not my much favourite Messdress and long evening dress.

I do prefer the latter, because there are so few chances to wear a swishy long dress or suit.

The dress is lined with dark red bremsilk, which makes it very comfortable to wear.